C.I.A. Is Sharing Data With Climate Scientists

[groovedaddy]

The nation’s top scientists and spies are collaborating on an effort to use the federal government’s intelligence assets — including spy satellites and other classified sensors — to assess the hidden complexities of environmental change. They seek insights from natural phenomena like clouds and glaciers, deserts and tropical forests.

The collaboration restarts an effort the Bush administration shut down and has the strong backing of the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In the last year, as part of the effort, the collaborators have scrutinized images of Arctic sea ice from reconnaissance satellites in an effort to distinguish things like summer melts from climate trends, and they have had images of the ice pack declassified to speed the scientific analysis.

The trove of images is “really useful,” said Norbert Untersteiner, a professor at the University of Washington who specializes in polar ice and is a member of the team of spies and scientists behind the effort.

Scientists, Dr. Untersteiner said, “have no way to send out 500 people” across the top of the world to match the intelligence gains, adding that the new understandings might one day result in ice forecasts.

“That will be very important economically and logistically,” Dr. Untersteiner said, arguing that Arctic thaws will open new fisheries and sea lanes for shipping and spur the hunt for undersea oil and gas worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/science/earth/05satellite.html?th&emc=th

[joeybee12]

1. This is confusing me...could it actually be that the CIA is finally

of some use?

[groovedaddy]

2. I thought the same thing. n.t

[joeybee12]

5. Then it is true...great minds do think alike...n/t

[silverweb]

3. It just figures.

Collaboration that "the Bush administration shut down."

Did that criminal gang of reTHUGs ever do anything that that was actually good for the nation or the world as a whole? :grr:

[groovedaddy]

4. Cheney shot a lawyer in the face. Other than that, I can't think of anything. Too bad it

wasn't Cheney as the shootee.

[Nihil]

6. Double-edged sword

> “That will be very important economically and logistically,” Dr. Untersteiner
> said, arguing that Arctic thaws will open new fisheries and sea lanes for
> shipping and spur the hunt for undersea oil and gas worth hundreds of billions
> of dollars.

Maybe I'm just feeling too cynical after reading some other new posts this morning.

[Kolesar]

7. Canada is going to have to deal with fishing and shipping off of their coasts

...as a "security" issue. They have to enforce their soveriegnty.